Ryan Layne Whitney: Rameau, L’Egyptienne, on clavicytherium

Jean-Philippe Rameau, L’Egyptienne, played on the Steven Sørli lautenwerk clavicytherium. This is a clavicytherium, or upright harpsichord, and a lautenwerk, being fitted with synthetic gut strings. To find out more about this fine instrument and several others built by Steven Sørli, visit his web site at --- look at the various instruments he builds, and listen to the excellent sound samples. The strings of the instrument, as you will find when reading Mr. Sørli’s web site, are mostly fluorocarbon, rather than real gut, with the bass octave strings of copper-wound nylon. It has one choir of 8’ strings with a range of GG-d3. The total height is 81“ and takes up only a 36“ by 18“ floor space.